Electronic devices are often equipped with one or more input devices for receiving instructions, commands, and other input from users of such electronic devices. For example, electronic devices often have one or more depressible buttons or keys which may be activated by a user to input instructions, commands, and other input to the electronic device. Such input devices may include a track pad, trackball, or touch pad, which may be used for providing navigational input to the electronic device. Recently, touchscreen display screens have become commonplace. Touchscreen displays are displays which have a touch-sensitive overlay for receiving input.
While input devices for electronic devices are available in many different shapes and sizes, such input devices often require a user to engage a specific portion of an electronic device (such as a button) through direct contact with that portion (e.g. by pressing a button). Such contact may soil the electronic device. For example, touchscreen displays sometimes become obscured from fingerprints which are left on the display following user contact. In addition to attracting dirt and debris, repeated contact on mechanically activated input devices may result in failure of such input devices over time (e.g. repeated pressing of a button may result in failure of that button).
Contactless input mechanisms have been proposed but techniques for interpreting contactless gestures are typically resource intensive, requiring a large amount of processing capabilities.
Like reference numerals are used in the drawings to denote like elements and features.